Intense storm disrupts Heathrow, Europe travel

A few people mill about London's Victoria Station on Oct. 28, 2013. A major storm with hurricane-force winds is lashing southern Britain, causing flooding and travel delays -- including the cancellation of roughly 130 flights at London's Heathrow Airport.(Photo: Jonathan Grun, AP)

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Hundreds of flights have been canceled and more delayed as the United Kingdom is pounded by one of its worst storms in years. The storm also is disrupting travel elsewhere in northern Europe, including Ireland, France and the Netherlands.

Nearly 130 flights had been canceled at London Heathrow as of 7:20 a.m. ET (11:20 a.m. London time) on Monday. The Telegraph of London writes "the airport, which operates an average of 1,200 flights daily, will cut 20% of flights between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m., 10% between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. and around 5% for the rest of the day."

"We have complied with a request from Heathrow Airport to reduce our flying schedule today as a result of the severe storms," a spokesperson for British Airways — the airport's busiest carrier — says to Business Traveller magazine.

British Airways adds it expects its long-haul flights to operate normally but domestic and European flights were operating on a reduced schedule with some cancellations expected throughout the day. It said Gatwick and City airport operations would not suffer as great an impact. About 20 flights had been canceled at City airport as of 11:20 a.m. ET, according to Flight-tracking site FlightAware.com.

Other regional airports, such as the Cardiff Airport in Wales, have not experienced significant disruptions, according to the BBC.

Elsewhere, express train services between central London and Gatwick and Stansted airports were suspended because of the storm, and the major English port of Dover was closed, leading to a cutoff in ferry service to France.

In the Netherlands, the storm has prompted the suspension of rail service on several lines and problems at Dutch airports. FlightAware.com reports about 100 flights had been canceled at Amstersdam's busy Schiphol Airport as of 7:20 a.m. ET (12:20 p.m. Amsterdam time). The Amsterdam airport is a key European hub, serving as the main base for Dutch carrier KLM.

KLM advised passengers via its website that "strong (gusty) winds will have a significant impact on the runway capacity for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and therefore on our flight schedules." The carrier says it has "proactively" canceled more than three dozen flights — all within Europe — because of the storm.

About 20 flights had been canceled at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, the main hub for KLM partner Air France.

Among the Netherlands' other notable closures is Amsterdam's bustling Central railway station, which The Associated Press says was shuttered from storm damage.

In Ireland, Aer Lingus had canceled about eight flights this morning because of the storm, the Irish Mirror reports.